University College Dublin

University College Dublin (UCD, Irish: An Coláiste Ollscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a major research university in Ireland. With around 33,500 enrolled students, it is the largest university in Ireland, and is mainly located on a single campus at Belfield, 4 km south of Dublin City Centre. The Belfield Campus is the largest urban university campus in Europe, covering 133 hectares (330 acres).

UCD markets itself as "Ireland's Global University" and welcomes over 7,000 international students each year. Throughout the year, the university hosts many large events, including its own UCD Open Day and UCD Festival, while during the summer it hosts thousands of delegates for many international conferences, such as the European Conference on Education Research and the 9th World Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care, which were hosted in 2016.

Understand

Get in

By bus

Bus is generally the easiest way to get to UCD. The Belfield campus is served by over 1,330 scheduled bus services every day, across 52 different routes. A number of high frequency routes connect UCD with the city centre and Dublin Airport, while there are also a range of other regular and peak-only services from various city, regional and national locations.

Core routes - from City Centre/Airport

Three core Dublin Bus routes serve the campus, the 39a, 46a and 145. Each of these routes operates every 8-10 minutes throughout the day and every 15-20 minutes at evenings and weekends, and each of them also connects UCD with Dublin City Centre.

  • Dublin Bus 39a Ongar - Blanchardstown - City Centre - UCD
  • Dublin Bus 46a Phoenix Park - City Centre - UCD - Stillorgan - Dún Laoghaire
  • Dublin Bus 145 Heuston Station - City Centre - UCD - Stillorgan - Bray (Ballywaltrim)

From Dublin City Centre, the best place to get a bus to UCD is either from 🌍 D'Olier Street (stops 334/335), 🌍 Nassau Street (stops 404/406) or 🌍 Kildare Street (stop 747), where any 39a, 46a or 145 can be taken to UCD. A single fare is €2.50 cash or €2.05 with a Leap Card, and the journey is around 15-20 minutes. Buses operate from early mornings, with the last departures at about 23:30 each night. On Friday and Saturday nights, Dublin Bus Nitelink 46n provides a late night service from the City Centre to UCD.

Aircoach operate an express service from Dublin Airport to UCD (route 700), which operates 24/7, every 15 minutes throughout the day and every 30 minutes at night. See "By plane" section below.

Other regular routes

The following routes operate regularly to UCD throughout the day. The timetables for each can be viewed by clicking on the routes below. Some of the timings on these routes can be a little inconsistent, so for more accurate departure times, check the Real Time Information on the Dublin Bus website.

  • Dublin Bus 11 runs from Wadalei Park/Ballymun in the north of the city, through the city centre to Sandyford in the south, every 20-30 minutes. Unlike most buses which operate along the Stillorgan Road on the eastern side of the campus, this bus runs along the Clonskeagh Road on the western side, which is very convenient for the Richview (Architecture) and Newstead (Civil Engineering) areas of the campus.
  • Dublin Bus 17 is an orbital route around the south side of the city which runs every 20-30 minutes, from Rialto in the west to Blackrock in the east, via Tenerure, Dundrum and UCD.
  • Dublin Bus 47 runs every 30-75 minutes from the City Centre and along the coast, to Belarmine in the south, via Ringsend, Sandymount, UCD and Sandyford.
  • Dublin Bus 142 runs every hour from Portobello and Rathmines in the west to the UCD Sports Centre stop. At peak times this route is also extended to Portmarnock via the Dublin Port Tunnel.
  • Bus Eireann 133 provides a service every 30-60 minutes from Wicklow, via Rathnew, Ashford & Newtownmountkennedy.
  • Bus Eireann Expressway 2 & Wexford Bus 740 together provide a service every 30 minutes from Wexford, via Enniscorthy, Gorey and Arklow.

Peak only routes

UCD is also served by a wide range of peak only services from many city, regional and national locations.

Some notable peak only routes include Dublin Bus Xpresso routes 41x from Swords, 66x from Maynooth and Leixlip, 67x from Celbridge and 84x from Newcastle, Kilcoole and Greystones.

By train

During term times, a shuttle bus connects UCD with 🌍 Sydney Parade DART Station. Sydney Parade is served by the frequent DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) service, which operates every 15 minutes along the Dublin Bay coast, from Howth/Malahide through the city centre to Bray/Greystones. The station is also served by direct Commuter trains from Dundalk and Maynooth at peak times, and connections are available via Connolly Station at off-peak times. Use the Irish Rail journey planner to plan your journey.

The DART shuttle bus departs Sydney Parade station in the morning every 30 minutes from 08:00-10:00, and in the evening departs 🌍 UCD O'Reilly Hall Car Park every 30 minutes from 16:00-18:00. A cash fare of €1 is payable to the driver for each journey. This shuttle only operates Monday to Friday during term times.

Alternatively, the 47 bus also connects UCD with Sydney Parade, while the 17 bus connects UCD with 🌍 Blackrock DART station. For anyone using a Leap card, this works out cheaper than the shuttle bus, as the Rail & Bus weekly cap is only €3 more per week than the Rail Only weekly cap.

Most national rail services arrive into 🌍 Heuston Station, to the west of the city centre. The 145 bus operates every 10 minutes from outside the station to UCD (every 15-20 minutes at evenings/weekends), with a journey time of about 45 minutes.

By taxi

A taxi from Dublin city centre will cost €10-22, depending on traffic and the time of day, and should take around 20 minutes. From Heuston Station it would be €12-28, while from Dublin Airport it would be €26-46. Taxis are plentiful in Dublin and can be found at taxi ranks across the city or hailed on the street.

By bicycle

By car
  1. The 🌍 main entrance to UCD is off the R138 Stillorgan Road (formerly the N11), which runs into Dublin City Centre from the south. Other important entrances are the Clonskeagh Road entrance and Fosters Avenue entrance. During the morning and evening peak times, traffic barriers are in operation to prevent people from using the campus as a shortcut. This means that to drive from one part of the campus to another you will need to exit the campus and re-enter through a difference entrance.

From the M50 motorway, the easiest way to reach UCD is to take exit 14, follow the N31 towards Dún Laoghaire until you reach the N11, then turn left and follow the N11/R138 towards the city centre until you reach the slip road for UCD.

The car parks in UCD are a mixture of Pay & Display and Permit Only car parks. During college term, students and staff can purchase permits for €25 per term, which can be used in the Permit Only car parks, while visitors must use the Pay & Display car parks. Demand is very high during term and it is difficult to get a space after 09:00. Outside of college term, and during evening and weekends, it is much easier to get a space, and the Permit Only car parks are also free to use.

By plane

Dublin Airport has flights from many UK, European, North American and Middle Eastern airports. Aer Lingus and Ryanair and the largest airlines.

From Dublin Airport, the easiest way to get to UCD is to take the Aircoach 700 bus. This runs every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at the night. Return tickets cost €16, or €14 if booked online, and the journey is about 45 minutes.

Alternatively, you can also take the Dublin Bus Airlink 747/757 services to Dublin City Centre. If you are visiting UCD for a few days for an event/conference, but are staying in the city centre, this would be a better option. You can purchase a 3-day Leap Visitor Card for €19.50, which can be used on all Dublin Bus, Luas Tram and DART train services, including the Airlink service, and buses between the City Centre and UCD.

Get around

On foot

Within the campus, walking is the easiest way to get around. There are good paths between buildings, and most of the main academic buildings are clustered together in the centre of the campus. A good map is available here.

Within most main buildings, rooms are numbered in the format A123 (or A1.23), with a letter ("A") representing the block and the first number ("1") representing the floor of the building. In the O'Brien Centre for Science, the blocks use the letters N, S, E, W and H (for North, South, East, West and Hub). The Newman (Arts) Building uses the most letters, with 10 blocks using the letters A to K, and 6 lecture theatres using the letters L to R. While this might seem confusing, the Newman Building has a really simple way for finding your way around. Just inside the main entrance, a series of letters are painted on the ground with different coloured lines leading from them to the respective blocks, and you just need to follow the correct line to reach your corridor.

At night the campus can be a very dark place, and walking alone is not advised. If you need to walk at night, the university provides a free Walk Safe service to escort people within the campus. You can request this by calling Estate Services on 7000 from any campus phone (or +353 1 716 7000 from a mobile), around 15 minutes before making your journey.

By bicycle

Bicycle rental is available from the Belfield Bike Shop within the campus.

By public transport

If you want to travel a little further to places outside the campus, such as the city centre, public transport is the easiest way to get around. Dublin has quite a good bus network, with frequent services along all the main corridors into the city. The network is a bit complicated to understand, with many different route and with route numbers not following any pattern. A good map of the core routes is available here, while the Transport for Ireland journey planner is also a good way to plan your journey.

Dublin Bus routes 39a, 46a and 145 connect UCD with the city centre, and each runs every 8-10 minutes throughout the day and every 15-20 minutes at evenings and weekends. The last departures on each route to and from the city centre are at 23:30 each night. On Friday and Saturday evenings the Nitelink 46n provides a late night service from the city centre to UCD.

Most buses serving UCD depart from just outside the main campus entrance along the Stillorgan Road, or from the Bus Park within the campus, at the following locations:

  • Stillorgan Road Northbound (stop 768) - Buses to City Centre (39a/46a/145)
  • Stillorgan Road Southbound (stop 2007) - Buses to Dún Laoghaire (46a), Bray (145) and Southeast
  • Campus Bus Park (stops 765/767) - 39a to Blanchardstown and 17 to Dundrum, Terenure & Rialto
  • Campus Bus Park (stops 4952/4953) - Peak Only Xpresso Services 25x, 32x, 41x, 66x and 67x
  • UCD Sports Centre (stop 877) - 142 to Rathmines, Portobello & Portmarnock, and UCD04 to Tallaght & Clondalkin
  • Clonskeagh Road (stops 860/878) - 11 to Wadalei Park and Sandyford

If you will be staying for at least a semester, get a Student Leap Card from the Students Union offices. This is a re-loadable smartcard which can be used to pay for fares on all public transport within Dublin, and gives significant discounts over cash fares.

By taxi

While there is no official designated taxi rank within the campus, taxis can often be found at the set down areas in the car park beside the AIB Bank, and in front of the Centra Shop at Merville Residences. Taxis can also be found quite easily on the Stillorgan Road slip roads outside the main campus entrance.

By car

Public transport in Dublin is quite good along main routes and into the city centre. If you intend to stay within Dublin during your visit, there is probably no need for a car. If you'd like to go further afield, there are a number of car rental companies based in Dublin Airport where you can hire a car from.

If you will be staying in Belfield for a year (or even a semester), and would like the use of a car, consider signing up to GoCar. It costs €49.99 to sign up, and you can then take a car from only €4.99 per hour, with tax, insurance, fuel and city parking all included. GoCar has over 100 vehicles available across the city, including 2 in UCD, based in the car park beside AIB, where there is also an additional parking space for visiting GoCars to use. You must be 21 or over, with a full driving licence for at least two years to use GoCar.

See

Academic buildings
  • 🌍 Engineering & Material Science Centre. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. This building opened in 1989 and houses the largest engineering college in Ireland, with approximately 2,200 students and 320 staff. The lower ground floor contains large laboratories, while lecture theatres are on upper floors. Prominent in the centre of the building is the large steam beam engine, this was originally installed in the Jameson Distillery on Bow St in Dublin in 1884. It is still in working condition and is turned on occasionally! 
  • 🌍 Confucius Institute for Ireland. Due to open mid-2018. Under construction, the Confucius Institute for Ireland is being co-financed by the Irish and Chinese governments. It will provide courses in Chinese language and aims to develop cultural, commercial and educational links between Ireland and China. The building will contain a 120-seat lecture theatre, classrooms and seminar rooms, and a National Resource Centre for Chinese studies. 
  • 🌍 Sutherland School of Law. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. UCD’s law school was established in 1911 and is amongst the top 100 law schools in the world (QS World Rankings), with over 1,300 students. The new Sutherland School of Law building was completed in 2013 and is the first purpose built law school in Ireland since Kings Inn in 1816 (King’s Inn was built under King Henry VIII rule and it is where you go to train as a barrister). The cost of the new school was €25 million, with €11 million of this coming from more than 100 donors. The north wing of the building contains the Arthur Cox Clinical Legal Education Centre, complete with negotiation and arbitration suites, judges chamber, witness room and a large Moot Court. The south wing contains three lecture theatres, a 320-seat theatre that doubles as a ceremonial Moot Court, a 200-seat theatre with rotating seats for group work, and a 100-seat Harvard-style theatre. The theatres and Moot Court feature lecture capture system so lectures and events can be live streamed as well as a broadcast facility between the Moot Court and the theatres. Many firms use Sutherland during the week, weekends and holidays to run training for their lawyers using the facilities. There is a room underneath the A&L Goodbody theatre for access to electrical equipment. It is rumoured that in this room, one sacrifices their soul before becoming a judge of the High Court. There is a secret reading room upstairs that only the lecturers are allowed to use. It is a two-storey library nestled between the staff offices above the moot court. If you drop money on any surface, the law school will automatically take its client referral cut of 30% just for returning it. 
  • 🌍 Lochlann Quinn School of Business. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. The Quinn School of Business is Ireland's largest undergraduate business school, and the only in Ireland to hold both AACSB accreditation and the top European accreditation EQUIS. The foundation stone for the new building was laid in 2001 by Lochlann and Brenda Quinn, and students moved in the following year. Facilities in the building include presentation studios with audio visual technology to record and replay pitches and presentations, group workspaces, and the Deloitte Data Analytics Lab. This contains Bloomberg financial data terminals which are professional tools used in the world of financial, investment, treasury, business research and data analytics. 
  • 🌍 Newman Building. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. The Newman Building is the largest single academic building on campus, housing the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences colleges. It was designed by Andrzej Wejchert, who developed the original campus masterplan, and was the second purpose-built building on the campus, opening in 1970 as the Arts - Commerce - Law building. It has 7 floors, with 10 blocks containing classrooms, labs and offices (numbered A to K), and 7 large circular lecture theatres on the ground floor (numbered L to R). The top floor of block D provides a view across Dublin City and Dublin Bay. The building also houses the National Folklore Collection and the UCD Classics Museum. 
  • National Folklore Collection, Ground Floor, Block F, ☎ +353 1 716 8216, e-mail: . M-F 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-17:00. One of Europe’s largest archives of oral tradition and cultural history, and inscribed in 2017 to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Holds collections of manuscripts, Irish folk music, audio and video. Researchers are welcome to consult the Manuscript Collections without prior appointment, whilst researchers wishing to listen to audio recordings, view video material or to visit the Folk Music Collection should e-mail or telephone for an appointment. Free entry. 
  • Classical Museum, Room K216, 2nd Floor, Block K, ☎ +353 1 716 8576, e-mail: . M-Tu 13:00-16:00, W 12:00-16:00, Th 13:00-18:00, F 10:00-15:00. Founded in 1910 by Rev. Henry Browne over a period of 10 years through exchanges/gifts with other museums such as the British Museum and Ashmolean. The collection was originally housed in Earlsfort Terrace until it was transferred to the Newman Building in 1971. Collection includes: greek vases, greek and roman coins, bronze and bone objects of daily life, Egyptian antiquities and a marble sarcophagus. Free entry. 
  • An Cuas, Ground Floor, Block D. A main socialising and events space on the ground floor, named after the Irish word for a small hollow or cavity. Used for hosting many events, e.g. pancakes on Pancake Tuesday, chocolates on Valentine's Day and Easter, and for tea/coffee mornings by various societies. 
  • Secret Tunnels. A network of underground tunnels exists across the campus, stretching for over 3 km from the water tower in the west to the Sutherland School of Law in the east, with branch leading north through the science centre. The tunnels were built in the 1960s during which time riots took place in many european universities, and it is rumoured that they were built in order to provide a safe route between buildings for staff, in the event that a riot ever took place in the university. However, in reality they exist to provide utility services between buildings, such as cables and pipes. While the majority of the tunnels are locked and inaccessible, a small portion of them can be accessed and explored in the Newman Building. Four spiral staircases, adjacent to lecture theatres L, N, O and R, lead downwards into the tunnels. 
  • “Before I Die” Wall, Ground Floor, Block C. Representing the creative side of Newman Students, this was a campaign of a global project based on a mental health model with the purpose of helping people to clarify life, the person you want to be with the things you want to do. The idea is for people walking by to pick up a piece of chalk and reflect on their lives and share their personal inspirations and goals in a public arena. 
  • 🌍 Agriculture & Food Science Centre. M-F 08:00-20:00. The only dedicated School of Agriculture and Food Science in an Irish university, with teaching and research spanning over the complete food chain from farm to fork, within a single institution. The building previously housed a rare collection of over 800 world timbers, however in 2016 these were loaned out to the Just Forests campaign group for an exhibition, who then stole and never returned the collection. The school is also supported by the 220-hectare Lyons Research Farm, a teaching and research facility in Newcastle, Co. Kildare in the areas of beef, crops, dairy, equine, sheep and pigs. 
  • 🌍 O’Brien Centre for Science. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. The Science Centre was the first purpose built building constructed on the campus in 1960s. It has been redeveloped into the O’Brien Centre for Science, phase 2 of which opened in October 2013. The entire redevelopment, costing €300 million, is the largest single capital investment in science in the history of the state. The Science Centre now houses 2,000 undergraduate and 2,500 masters and PhD students, the largest science community in Ireland. The centre actually consists of 6 connected buildings, the Science Hub in the centre, surrounded by Science North, Science South, Science East, Science West, and the Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology. The atrium within Science East is the second largest open atrium space in Ireland, behind Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport. 
  • 🌍 Veterinary Sciences Centre. M-F 08:00-22:00. Main floor consists of laboratories and lecture rooms. “Wet-labs” are used for classes such as parasitology and microbiology, while “dry-labs” is used for histopathology, using a digital software system to view digitised slides e.g. of normal organ structure vrs an organ with a pathological or disease process. The UCD School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only six schools in Europe which are accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Adjoining the school is the UCD Veterinary Hospital, a referral service for small and large animals: primary animal species seen at the hospital include dogs, cats, horses, cows and sheep. Services provided include small animal medicine and surgery, large animal surgery, farm animal medicine, herd health and equine medicine. There is also full diagnostic services provided within the hospital from blood work to histopathology to a range of imaging modalities. 
  • 🌍 Health Sciences Centre. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. Houses the School of Medicine, Nursing and Physiotherapy, Sports & Public Health, with approx 4,000 students. The building is designed in the shape of a horseshoe, surrounding the central library building. The main building extends over four floors, with the ground floors consisting of lecture theatre and classroom facilities, an open access computer suite, IT services centre and social space. Designed by Murray O’Laoire Architects, the UCD Health Science Centre was highly commended in the two categories of ‘Sustainable Projects, and ‘Best Educational Building’. This building was designed to host several constituent disciplines whilst simultaneously allowing them their individuality within the building. The building offers a multi-disciplinary environment where students of diagnostic imaging, medicine, nursing and physiotherapy train and develop together. 

Libraries

The UCD Campus has four main libraries. Open public access is available to the smaller Veterinary Medicine and Richview Libraries, however the larger James Joyce and Health Sciences Libraries require an ID card to enter, so are only available for staff and students. Visitors to the university who are carrying out research may apply to become an external reader to access these libraries, by filling out an application form and bringing it to the admissions desk of the James Joyce library for processing. External reader access costs €15 per day, €30 per week or €70 for three months.

  • 🌍 James Joyce Library. M-F 08:30-23:00, Sa 09:00-17:30, Su 09:00-21:00. On 4 levels, the James Joyce library is UCD’s largest library, with approximately 1.5 million books and journals, 2,500 study spaces and 2 million visits annually. Collections held are for arts, celtic studies, human sciences, business, law, science, agriculture and engineering. Also contains Special Collections which are unique book, archival and manuscript collections. Regular exhibits are held both within the library and online, e.g. 1916, Thomas MacDonagh, W.B Yeats and his Muses, History of Medicine. 
  • 🌍 Health Sciences Library, Ground Floor, Health Sciences Centre. M-Th 08:00-22:00, F 08:00-17:00, Sa 09:00-13:00. Holds a comprehensive collection of resources on diagnostic imaging, health and safety, medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and performance science, public health and population science, sports and exercise science, history of medicine and nursing. 
  • 🌍 Veterinary Medicine Library, Ground Floor, Veterinary Sciences Centre. M-Th 08:00-22:00, F 08:00-17:00, Sa 10:00-13:00. The only academic veterinary medicine library in Ireland, with an extensive collection supporting the veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing programmes, and also used by members of the Irish veterinary profession. 
  • 🌍 Richview Library, Richview Campus. M-Th 09:30-21:00, F 09:30-17:00, Sa 10:00-13:00. Holds collections relating to architecture, landscape architecture, environmental subjects, urban history and planning, as well as development plans for every county in Ireland. Also contains the UCD Library maps service, with historical Irish maps and large scale mapping printed from OSI databases, and Archinfo, a commercial information service for architectural practices. 

Period houses

The Belfield campus was once 11 separate period estates, and only 7 of those survive today. The original estates were as follows: Ardmore, Belfield, Belgrove, Merville, Newstead, Roebuck Castle, Roebuck Grove, Richview, Thornfield, Woodview.

  • 🌍 Belfield House. Belfield House was the original estate purchased by UCD in the 1930s. It was built in 1801 by Ambrose Moore. Inside the porch (visible even if the house is locked) is one of the finest examples of Irish neoclassical sculpture called Hibernia, with the Bust of Lord Cloncurry. The sculpture was made by artist John Hogan in 1841 when he was working in Rome. The sculpture arrived in Ireland in 1846 to be exhibited at the Royal Exchange, which is now City Hall. The sculpture was in Lyons Estate and acquired by UCD when it purchased the estate in 1963. A large bay window (facing the running track) looks out onto Dublin Bay. Plasterwork found in the entrance hall and oval room is in Adams Style which is typical of Dublin houses of this time period. Current use for the house is as a reception for important visitors to the campus. Outside the house is a Loblolly pine tree, the state tree of the state of Arkansas in America. It was presented to former US President Bill Clinton when he visited to open the Clinton Institute for American Studies in 2010. Beside the house is the walled gardens. 
  • 🌍 Merville House. M-F 08:00-17:30. This is the oldest house on the campus, built in 1750 by Anthony Foster who was chief baron of the Irish Exchequer. When he died the house was passed onto his son John who was the last speaker at the Irish House of Commons. Ownership then went to the Huge Dudgeons in 1890 and a riding school was established. The stables from the school were incorporated into the Nova centre. Funding for the restoration of the house comprised of partnerships with companies such as AIB, Arthur Cox, Ericsson, Goodbody, Enterprise Ireland and funding from UCD itself. Restoration cost was over 10 million. Reception rooms in Merville were once used as science labs/academic use before being restored. Now houses Nova UCD, a hub for new companies/entrepreneurs which acts as an incubation facility for new companies. They get access to a business support programme which comprises of advice, seminars, workshops as well as access to a NovaUCD network of researchers, business leaders and investors. Opened in 2003. More than 80 companies have already graduated from Nova and there are more than 40 companies in Nova (companies range from ICT, biotech, renewable energy, medical, wireless etc) 
  • 🌍 Ardmore House. M-F 08:00-18:00. Previously known as Belview and built in the 1800s as a country villa. Purchased in 1948 by the Department for Post and Telegraphs (predecessor to RTÉ television) which used it as a broadcasting station. UCD acquired Ardmore in 1957 and it has meeting, conference, and reception rooms on the ground floor 
  • 🌍 Woodview House. M-F 08:00-22:00. Part of the Earl of Pembrokes Estate, built in 1820. Used to have a gatelodge, water streams, a footbridge and walled gardens. A wildflower meadow is opposite the house. 
  • 🌍 University Lodge (Roebuck Grove). Closed to public. Residence of the President of UCD, with restoration completed in 2004 in-between presidents. House has a role as a reception venue with formal reception rooms with Greek facade and a rear section to the house for the President and his family. 
  • 🌍 Richview. M-F 08:00-22:00, Sa 08:00-18:00. Built in 1785 by the Powell family and originally a masonry boys school where students learned the art of masonry. UCD bought the estate in 1980 for €2.1 million and it’s buildings now house the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy. The main school building was once an orphanage for boys, while the quad was used for cricket matches and planted around it are lime trees. The Memorial Hall commemorates the students who died in World Wars I and II. It is now a lecture theatre, a choral scholars hall and an exhibition space. The adjacent Newstead is home to Leinster rugby and the campus's most mature trees (over 350 years old). 

Events
  • UCD Open Day. First Saturday in November each year. UCD's main open day for all undergraduate courses, attended by over 10,000 people. 
  • UCD Festival. Annual open day for alumni, staff, the local community and friends. 

Throughout each summer, the university also hosts many international educational and research conferences.

Do

Student activities

Walks and tours

Learn

As Ireland's largest university, UCD runs a wide range of courses over many different subject areas, including:

  • Agriculture, Food & Nutrition
  • Architecture
  • Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Business
  • Engineering
  • Law
  • Medicine
  • Nursing & Midwifery
  • Physiotherapy
  • Radiography
  • Science
  • Social Science
  • Sport & Performance
  • Veterinary Medicine

More information on all undergraduate courses are available from UCD Student Recruitment, John Hume Building.

Work

Buy

UCD Students Union run three convenience stores across the campus, while Molloys Centra also run a larger store in the student residences, as well as a small shop in Science East. The only other shops available on the campus are a book shop and gift shop.

Convenience Shops
  • UCD Students Union Shops. 
  • 🌍 SU Engineering Shop, Engineering and Materials Sciences Building. 
  • 🌍 SU Library Shop, Ground Floor, James Joyce Library Building. 
  • 🌍 SU Sports Centre Shop, Ground Floor, UCD Student Centre. 
  • 🌍 Molloys Centra An Siopa Beag, Science East, O'Brien Centre for Science. 

Other

Eat

There are two canteen restaurants on the campus, and a cafe in most large buildings. Opening hours in the evenings are quite poor, and it can be difficult to get food anywhere after 18:00. There have been a number of attempts to improve food options on campus, including a newly formed Food Society, new Subway and Freshly Chopped food outlets, and a new village market held every Thursday during term time.

  • 🌍 UCD Village Market, Green area between Campus Bus Park and Sutherland School of Law. Thursdays only during term times. Does not take place outside of term or during inclement weather. 

Restaurants
  • 🌍 Main Restaurant (Randles Rest), First Floor, Gerard Manley Hopkins International Centre. 
  • Starbucks, Kiosk, First Floor, Gerard Manley Hopkins International Centre. 
  • Freshly Chopped, First Floor, Gerard Manley Hopkins International Centre. 
  • Subway, Ground Floor, Gerard Manley Hopkins International Centre. 
  • 🌍 Pi Restaurant, Science East, O'Brien Centre for Science. 
  • Pi Coffee Dock, Science East, O'Brien Centre for Science. 
  • 🌍 Roebuck Castle Restaurant, Roebuck Residences. 

The Clubhouse Bar in the Student Centre also provides hot food. See Drink section below.

Cafes
  • 🌍 Costa Coffee, Sutherland School of Law. 
  • 🌍 Coffee House Starbucks, Quinn School of Business. 
  • 🌍 Java Arts Cafe, Newman Building. 
  • Newman Coffee Dock, Newman Building. 
  • 🌍 Readers Deli, Library Concourse. 
  • 🌍 Earls Deli, Veterinary Sciences Centre. 
  • 🌍 Coffee House Starbucks, Conway. 
  • 🌍 Pulse Cafe, Health Sciences Centre. 
  • 🌍 Pool Side Cafe, Student Centre. 
  • 🌍 Earls Deli, Richview School of Architecture. 

The Students Union shops and Molloy's Centra also provide Deli food, see Buy section above.

Drink

Following the shock bankruptcy and closure of the main student bar in 2012, UCD now only has one sports bar, the Clubhouse in the Student Centre:

  • 🌍 The Clubhouse Bar, Student Centre, ☎ +353 1 716 3146, e-mail: . The Clubhouse is UCD's only student bar on campus. The comfortable surroundings of The Clubhouse provides a relaxing atmosphere for students, staff and members of the public to sit back and enjoy the excellent food and drink that is on offer. Carvery lunch is served in the bar Monday to Friday from 12:00, with other hot food available till late. 

Other nearby pubs include:

Sleep

Campus accommodation

UCD provides over 3,000 bedspaces of campus accommodation. During college terms, these are generally only available to students for the entire term, but during the summer they are available for shorter periods for those attending the many conferences and events held.

The following residences are on the Belfield Campus:

The following residences are owned by the university but are outside the Belfield Campus:

  • 🌍 Muckross Halls. 
  • 🌍 Blackrock Halls. 
  • 🌍 Proby. 

Montrose is a privately owned student residence, immediately outside the main gates of the campus.

UCD also provides an Accommodation Pad to assist students in finding private accommodation.

Hotels

Nearby hotels include:

If you are attending an event or conference in UCD, you may prefer to base yourself in Dublin City Centre, which is only 15 minutes away by bus. See the Getting around section above for more details on public transport, and the Dublin page for hotel listings.

Stay safe

In the event of an emergency while on campus, dial 7999 from any campus phone or +353 1 716 7999 from a mobile. UCD has its own first response services based on campus who will attend to any incidents. It's a good idea to save this number into your phone, just so you have it in case you happen to need it.

While general precautions should still be taken, UCD is considered a very safe place to be, and crime of any sort is extremely rare. Many students will even tell you of stories where phones or wallets were left somewhere, and were found untouched in the same location many hours later. Walking through the campus alone at night is not recommended and a free Walk Safe service is available to escort people who need to make journeys at night. This can be requested by calling Campus Services on extension 7000 approximately 15 minutes before making your journey, and is available free of change.

Any incidents of crime should be reported to Donnybrook Garda Station (+353 1 666 9200).

Connect

Internet

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout all buildings on the UCD Campus, on two networks. The "UCD Wireless" network is open and doesn't require any password or sign in. The "eduroam" (education roaming) network is a secure, world-wide roaming access service for the international research and education community, available in UCD and in Universities worldwide, which provides ‌extended access to logged-in UCD staff, students and visitors from other institutions. Details on how to connect are available here. Both networks provide fast internet speeds.

SUAS (stand up and surf) computers are available in most large buildings, including Newman (Arts) Building, O'Brien Centre for Science, Sutherland School of Law, Quinn School of Business, Gerard Manley Hopkins International Centre and the Student Centre. Anyone can walk up to these and use them, free of charge. Some computers might require a login, but you'll usually find another beside you which won't require it. They are usually quite visible along main corridors, but if you can't see one, just ask someone where the nearest is and you should find one easily. Computer labs are also available in most buildings, but only for students and staff and a login will be required.

UCD IT Services Centre's are on the ground floor of the Daedalus Building, and on the 1st floor of the Health Sciences Centre, and provide advice and assistance with using computers and internet within UCD.

Phone

All phone numbers within UCD are in the format +353 1 716 xxxx, with the last four digits representing the extension within the university. From all phones within the campus, only the extension needs to be dialled. Phones are available inside the doors of most buildings and can be used to call internal numbers within the university, but not external calls.

Cope

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gollark: I recommend abandonment.
gollark: So we just need shoe seller now?
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gollark: I fear your teleportation powers.
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